Amsterdam, the Netherlands –Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced that it will convene an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGM) and publish the agenda with explanatory note shortly. The sole purpose of the EGM is submit to Philips’ shareholders …

The government will give Metro Manila and other
“high-risk” areas, which are currently placed under enhanced community quarantine
(ECQ), enough time to transition to general community quarantine (GCQ),
Malacañang said on Thursday.

Depending on the speed of containment, the duration of
travel restrictions, and the shutdown of borders, the World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) projects international tourism to decline by 58 percent to
78 percent year on year in 2020.

Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Hjayceelyn M. Quintana expressed happiness over the negative test result for
coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) of a one-and-a-half-year-old Filipino baby,
three weeks after both he and his mother were informed that they were positive
of the disease …

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. on Thursday assured
he has met with the 43 local chief executives in the province for the
preparation of quarantine facilities for repatriated overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) and other stranded individuals.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) said Wednesday
it believes at least 90,000 health care workers had been infected and more than
260 nurses had died in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Failure by governments to record infection rates and
deaths of health care …

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday
reported that 21 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as well as 34
recoveries among Filipinos abroad were added to the overall tally for May 7.

Waking up at 6 a.m. to fall in long queues at the MRT and
hopping on the bus only to arrive just in the nick of time before the meeting
starts were the routines we struggled with when everything was still normal.

Western Visayas recorded three new coronavirus disease
2019 (Covid-19) recoveries on Thursday, bringing the total of the region to 34,
the Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) 6 (Western
Visayas) said.

This province is now ready to conduct mass testing for
suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases and medical front-liners
with the arrival of the 1,428 swab test kits procured from the Philippine Red
Cross (PRC).

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has ordered a 14-day quarantine
and mandatory swab testing of all children in conflict with the law (CICL) to
be released from any of the holding facilities in the province to prevent the
spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO)
needs two more days, or until Saturday, to finish the distribution of the cash
assistance to over 60,000 beneficiaries here, an official said Thursday.

Helen Bagasao, CSWDO chief, said they are presently
attending to recipients of the …

Seventy-two front-liners, including members of the local
police force, tested negative of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the
rapid anti-body test conducted in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao on Wednesday.

Dr. Elizabeth Samama, provincial health chief, said in a
radio interview on Thursday that those …

Acting on a tip, joint police and military forces
arrested early Wednesday two suspected members of the Daesh-inspired Bangsamoro
Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) tagged in a recent grenade attack near a police
station in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

The national government has given the local government
units (LGUs) in Region 9 a two-day extension to finish the distribution of the
cash benefit given to qualified families through the Social Amelioration
Program (SAP).

Some 37 members of the “Nagkahiusang Mag-Uuma sa Pindasan
og Pangibiran” (NAGMAPPA) from the Davao de Oro town of Mabini withdrew their
support from the leftist “Kilusan ng Mambubukid sa Pilipinas” (KMP), the Army’s
71st Infantry Battalion (71IB) said Thursday.

Following President Rodrigo Duterte’s signing of
Executive Order No. 114 institutionalizing the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong
Pag-asa” program, Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Thursday urged all
concerned government agencies to act immediately to meet the objectives and
timeline of the program.

Malacañang on Thursday said it respects the broadcast
firm ABS-CBN Corporation’s appeal to the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the
implementation of National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) cease and
desist order that prompted the media network to stop its television and radio
broadcasts.

At least 88 former rebels in Surigao del Sur who recently
abandoned the communist New People’s Army (NPA) to start a new life with their
families received financial assistance from the government’s relief program for
displaced workers.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday cited
public cooperation and support as key factors behind the significant decline in
traditional crime trend under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Another cut in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) key
rates is expected after the contraction in domestic growth in the first quarter
of 2020 but timing depends on factors like inflation and impact of coronavirus
disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) said Thursday it has
rendered thousands of legal services during the ongoing enhanced community
quarantine (ECQ) amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.